Hector Bolitho papers

Finding Aid

Prepared for the Web by Barbara Bass, March 11, 2002; Last Updated: August 2020

Inclusive Dates: 1927-1968
Extent: .32 cubic foot (2 slim document cases)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Hector Bolitho (1897-1974) was a New Zealand native and the author of more than fifty books, largely nonfiction. He is best remembered as a biographer, especially for his tasteful treatment of the British royal family in Albert the Good and the Victorian Reign (1932); Albert, Prince Consort (1964); and The Reign of Queen Victoria (1948). One of his few novels, Judith Silver, also won critical acclaim in 1929. In addition to authoring books, Bolitho was a frequent contributor to magazines in England, the United States, Germany, Pakistan, and several other countries, and he lectured in the United States more than 100 times.

Scope and Content: This collection contains correspondence and manuscripts of Hector Bolitho. Also included are two scrapbooks and photographs. See individual item listings below for more details on contents.

Arrangement: Materials are arranged chronologically.

Related Material: Additional information on the collection may be found in the Bibliographical File for Hector Bolitho and the manuscripts card catalogue.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Sir Alexander Nelson Hood, manuscripts.: 1924-1928 [11 letters and a postcard dated from 14 Dec. 1924 to 21 Feb. 1928 to Hector Bolitho]
2. Millin, Sarah to H. Bolitho: Jan. 18, 1927
3. Millin, Sarah to H. Bolitho: July 7, 1927
4. Bolitho, Hector: Albert the Good [typescript, signed, with corrections throughout]: 1931
5. Millin, Sarah Gertrude to Hector Bolitho: Sept. 12, 1932
6. Markham, Violet R. to Hector Bolitho: May 20, 1935
7. Markham, Violet R. to Hector Bolitho: May 24, 1935
8. Sitwell, Edith to Hector Bolitho: Aug. 14, 1935
9. Sitwell, Edith to Hector Bolitho: 1935
10. Bolitho, Hector to A. L. Rowse: Mar. 5, 1945
11. Rowse, A. L. to Hector Bolitho: Apr. 19, 1945
12. Nicholls, N. O. to Hector Bolitho: Mar. 15, 1948
13. Millin, S. G. to Hector Bolitho: June 17, 1955
14. Bolitho: The Wine of Douro: 1956
15. Bolitho: The First Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand, manuscript, signed: 1968 [This account of Prince Alfred's tour was made from documents in the Archives of Windsor Castle. Accompanying the manuscript is a transcription of 15 letters, mostly from Lieu. A. B. Haig to Queen Victoria, describing the tour.]
16. Bolitho: Mrs. Roosevelt, Queen Mary and Others: Some Notes from My Diary, manuscript: 1968 [The manuscript includes two original signed letters from Eleanor Roosevelt to Bolitho; photocopies of three signed letters from Winston Churchill to Franklin D. Roosevelt; brochures on Hyde Park and the Roosevelt Library; articles by Herbert Agar and Jo Grimand; and some photographs.]
17. Rowse, A. L. to Hector Bolitho: Feb. 16, n.y.
18. Victorian album: n.d. [Contents include poems, pictures of all kinds, and cards. Not all leaves have been used.]

Box 2
Folder -- Contents

1. List of contents of scrapbook [item 2, below]: 1932
2. Letters--Prince Consort, Scrapbook: 1932 [contains letters, some from members of the Royal Family, regarding Bolitho's book Albert the Good; also included are some photographs]